Saturday, August 13, 2011

Entry 139 8.11.11

Entry 139, August 11th, 2011, 12:28am (GMT +2)

I'm beginning to realize the importance that a good rhythm guitarist carries in a rhythm section. Now that Lubo is back I can really hear the difference; John (his replacement) was a fine guitar player, but he didn't have the force of personality or volume that Lubo does. Lubo is a strong player with a good sense of time, and so he does not hesitate to lay down the groove when the rest of the section errs in one direction or another. Lincoln tends to rush and Gabor tends to lay back, so it's good to have someone to mediate.

I've heard similar situations where it didn't work out so well. Two summers ago at the East Lansing Jazz Festival Marion Hayden was playing in a band where the pianist rushed and the drummer dragged. She laid the time right in the middle, but it only served to keep the band from falling apart instead of forcing the rhythm section into any sort of cohesion (I guess that's good too, but still). Lubo's playing is giving the band a rock to stand on, especially on all of these soul and motown acts where there are lots of prominent rhythm guitar parts.